1. Field
The present invention relates to games that involve logic-based puzzles and, more specifically, to a board game and method of play that includes conversion of a solitaire numeric puzzle game to a multiplayer game of completing number patterns initiated by a given set of numbers.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of games and puzzles have been introduced that involve numbers and their logical arrangement in specific patterns based on a set of rules. Typically these puzzles have a solution pattern that a player develops based on the relationship of the numbers in certain locations on a grid. Many of these puzzles are solitaire games, allowing only one player to enjoy completing the logic-based pattern of numbers. In some cases, number puzzles are evolved variations of ancient games based on certain mathematical rules. A particular game, Su Doku (also referred to as Sudoku, Soduku, Suduku, and Su Duku) is a solitaire puzzle involving ordered rows and columns of numbers. Both puzzle aficionados and others generally interested in logic have exhibited increasing interest in playing Su Doku.
Rules of play for numeric games such as Su Doku are generally rooted in the rules for Latin Squares, a game dated as far back as the thirteenth century. Latin Squares puzzles are solitaire puzzles that include a grid of cells formed by columns and rows and a set of numbers or symbols, each appearing once in each row and column of the solution pattern. Su Doku is an evolved version of Latin Squares having nine columns and nine rows forming a grid of eighty-one cells. Each cell in the solution pattern is assigned a number from 1 to 9 and each number appears only once in any given row or column. The cells are further divided into groups of nine cells, each group forming sub-grids having three columns and three rows. In the solution pattern, each cell in the respective sub-grids is assigned a distinct number from one to nine, each number appearing only once in any given sub-grid. Typically, the puzzles provide the solution numbers for some of the cells and the player has to develop the rest based on the numbers provided. The number of cells in the puzzle with the solution numbers provided determines the difficulty of a given Su Doku Puzzle.
A common strategy for developing the numbers is to write all the numbers, one to nine, in each cell of the Su Doku puzzle and determine the solution numbers in each cell by a process of elimination. Using this strategy, a player denotes unselected numbers in each cell by crossing them out. Although this strategy is an effective method of determining the solution numbers, it can result in a cluttered playing area. For example, a number may have to be rewritten in a cell next to where it was crossed out because it was crossed out in error. A number may be crossed out in error when that number was selected as a solution number in error in the corresponding row, column or sub-grid. Additionally when the puzzle is partially developed and there is numerous crossed-out numbers on the playing area, it becomes difficult to distinguish which cells remain to be filled with a number and which numbers remain available as solution numbers.
Furthermore, similar to their predecessors, recent games such as Su Doku are generally solitaire games, allowing only one person to play the game. Typically these puzzles remain on paper and the player must use a writing instrument to solve the puzzles. Certain variations of Su Doku accommodate more than one player and provide other means of playing the game such as a single board and numbered game pieces or felt pens and an erasable playing area. However, such variations are typically limited to either two or four players and do not provide for a more cohesive way of executing the process of elimination strategy described above. Therefore, these variations simply provide an enlarged version of the original game.
Although number puzzles such as Su Doku can be entertaining and intellectually challenging, they remain substantially unchanged from their primitive origins and are limited in the number of players that can simultaneously play against each other in one game. Furthermore, existing tools for playing such games impose obstacles that inhibit execution of strategies to solve the puzzles expediently. Therefore, there is a need for a number puzzle and/or game that allows an unlimited number of players to play against one another and that is configured to accommodate effective execution of strategies.